Ingot for typesetting machine feeders



June 15, 1937. A H, 2,083,913

INGOT FOR TYPESETTING MACHINE FEEDERS Filed Dec. 10, 1956 T ORNEY Patented June 15, 1937 UNITED STATES INGOT FOR; TYPESETTING MACHINE FEEDERS Albert fH. Jung, New York, N. Y., assignor to United American Metals Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 10, 1936, Serial No. 115,077

3 Claims. (01. 22-218) This invention relates to type metal ingots and particularly to the kind that are fed gradually I into the pot of a type setting and casting machine.

It has been customary in the past to hang an ingot of type metal on the hook of a feeding machine in such a manner that the ingot dips into the pot of molten metal provided in type casting and setting machines such as are known,

for example, as Linotype and Monotype machines. As the metal in the pot is consumed for the casting of type, the feeding machine lowers the ingot further into the pot. Ingots of this character arefrequently called Margach ingots.

Difiiculty has been experienced in the past, however, in the handling of such ingots because they weigh about twenty pounds ormore each and must be reduced in thickness at one end at least and perforated for the reception of a hook. In shipping such ingots or carrying them about or hanging them on the hooks of feeding machines, they are likely to break off at the end where they are perforated. The perforated end has been made comparatively thin to permit the rather heavy ingot to be readily hung on the hook. The consequent weakness of said ends causes them to break and thereby to necessitate either the formation of a new hanging hole therein or the re-melting of the ingot and the remolding thereof. When the ends of the ingots are made of suflicient thickness to resist breakage thereof, the perforation therein for the reception of the hook nevertheless makes it diffi- 35 cult to hang the ingot on the hook in the exact 40 the hook manually anddropped into the pot.'

vertical position in which it should hang for proper feeding into the melting pot. Furthermore, the end part of the ingot nearest the hook is retained on the hook and must be lifted 01f Otherwise the feeding machine will carry the hook down into the molten metal and unduly heat the hook as well as coating it with the type metal, so that the heated hook and the necessity for 45 peeling off the attached metal therefrom for the reception of the next ingot, retards the operation.

My invention therefore contemplates the provision of an ingot which can be readily hung on the hook of the feeding machine regardless of 50 which end is uppermost and which when hung 55 vision of an ingot having end ears of sufiicient strength to prevent said ears from breaking off during the handling of the ingot and hanging it on the hook.

My invention further contemplates the proclear fro-m the description which follows and from the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a front View of my new ingot as it appears in its feeding position, the hook of the feeding machine and the pot of the type-casting machine being shown in dash-dot lines.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the ends of the ingot.

In the practical embodiment of my invention which I have shown by way of example, the main body portion ii] of the ingot is made of the usual shape having converging sides ii and i2 and'an upper surface i3 somewhat narrower than the lower surface i i thereof.

In order that either end of the ingot may be hung upon the hook, both ends are made identical in shape. Said ends, however, are made of sufiicient thickness of material to prevent breakage thereof' while nevertheless permitting the ingot to be swung over the hook 15 of the feeding machine. For this purpose I provide the upper bevelling surface i6 which extends from the extremity of the top surface l3 to the adjacent end of the ingot. Said surface i6 is concave upwardly and reduces the thickness of the end ,portion of the ingot to about half the thickness of the body portion ill thereof. Intermediate the sides ii and i2 I provide the substantially V-shaped slot or opening ll dividing the end portion of the ingot into two similar ears [8 and iii. The slot I1 is reduced in width toward the inner end thereof as at 20 and said slot is made of substantial length, that is, ,the length of the slot is about twicethe thickness of the ingot at its body portion. The inner walls of the ears I8 and i9 which form opposed walls of the slot, taper downwardly and inwardly toward each other from the outer surfaces of said end parts to provide a bevelled edge portion 2! at the bottom of the slot. Projecting into the slot at the ends of each of the ears I8 and H are the hook-engaging lugs 22 and 23. lugs extend toward each other partway across the slot ll but not far enough to close said slot.

Said.

The height of each of said lugs may be slightly greater than half the thickness of the extreme end portion of the ears. The inner walls of said lugs, however, are bevelled upwardly and out- 5 wardly and are continuous with the inner walls of the ears l8 and I9, whereby said lugs provide bevelled edges continuous with the bevelled edge 2| of the slot for engagement by the hook IS. The inner edges 24 and 25 of said lugs diverge 10 from the middle part of said lugs in a direction away from the adjacent end and thereby form cam surfaces thereon which automatically adjust themselves on the hook l5 under the weight of the ingot to hold the ingot in exact vertical position on the hook.

Since both ends of the ingot are made identical, a description of the other end is deemed unnecessary. By making both ends of the ingot alike, it will be seen that the ingot may be lifted with either enduppermost as may be found convenient and swung over the hook'so that the hook enters the slot [1 whereafter the ingot may be released. The book engages the bevelled and tapered edges 24 and and by reason of its 5 cam action therewith, should the ingot not be originally hung straight on the hook, the. ingot nevertheless swings into its proper vertical position. The hook engages only a comparatively small portion of the ingot because of the provision of the lugs 22 and 23 and of the peculiar shape of said lugs. Danger of arranging the ingot improperly on the hook I0 is thereby substantially minimized. As the ingot is fed into the pot 26 and as the hook approaches said pot, no

attention need be paid thereto when the bottom end of the slot H, has entered the pot. However, there remains nothing to hold the ears l8 and I! together and because of the inclination of the edges 24 and 25, the earsl8 and I9 will fall away from the hook, and into the pot automatically.

50 and the ears l8 and I! are thereby sufllciently strong to resist breakage under the conditions of practical use;

It will be seen that I have provided an ingot which can be readily handled, which hangs automatically in its proper position on the hook of a feeding machine and the end part of which automatically becomes separated into two parts which drop into the pot at the proper time. It will further be seen that I have provided an ingot having new characteristics well designed to meet the requirements of practical use.

While I have shown and described certain speciflc embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, but desire to claim my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An elongated ingot having a bifurcated end portion providing a pair of transversely spaced elongated arms adapted to receive a hook therebetween, and hook-engaging lugs integral with and projecting inwardly from the arms, each of said lugs being shorter, narrower and thinner than the arm from which it projects.

2. In an ingot having a bottom face and a narrower top face, a bifurcated end portion providing a pair of elongated arms spaced transversely apart a distance suflicient to receive a hook therebetween, and a lug extending inwardly from each arm and terminating outwardly of the center line of the ingot and partly obstructing the space between said arms, said lug being shorter, narrower and thinner than the arm from which it extends and being provided with bevelled hook-engaging surfaces, the extensions of which form a Y,

3. In an ingot, a body portion, a bifurcated portion at an end of the ingot providing a pair of elongated arms spaced apart transversely, each of said arms extending longitudinally from the body portion and being of increasing cross-sectional area throughout the length thereof, the

cross-sectional area of said arms being greatest 

